Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that hit Asia required a major review of the old system of government-business alliances and the public management of private risks. In Korea this meant an evolution of the development paradigm.
In a controversial decision, the South Korean government has requested textbooks publishers to ignore calls to remove examples of evolution in science texts for high school students. This includes evidence of the evolution of horses and of the avian ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A creationist group from South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to omit evidence of evolution in high school science textbooks. The move was a result of a campaign by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) an independent affiliate of the Korea Association for Creation Research which aims to get rid of biology books of "atheist materialism." The STR claims such materialism portrays a negative image for students, causing them to be skeptical.
When the STR's campaign hit the news, scientists from all over the globe expressed concern. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul wrote in an open letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. His colleagues backed him from across the country who gathered into an organization called Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Researchers are concerned about the possibility that the STR campaign will be spread to other parts of the world where the belief in creationism is on the rise. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement could increase pressure for textbook revisions in other countries, notably those with strong Christian and Muslim populations.
The South Korean culture is particularly strong in the evolution debate. 26 percent of the country's citizens belong to an organized religion and the majority of them practice Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, a lot of Koreans adhere to the philosophy of Ch'ondogyo. It is that is based on Confucian principles which emphasizes harmony in society and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo is 무료 에볼루션 of teaching that the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun and that heavenly blessings can be achieved through the good works of one's.
All of this has created a fertile ground. Numerous studies have revealed that students who have a religious background are more hesitant about learning evolution than those without religion. The reasons behind this aren't evident. Students who are religious might be less familiar with the theories of science, making them more susceptible to the creationists influence. Another reason could be that students with religious backgrounds might view evolution as a concept that is agnostic, making them feel less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent times the scientific community has been concerned about anti-evolution efforts in schools. A study conducted in 2009 found that over 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie, and that a belief in it would be contrary to their convictions about religion. Despite the popularity of creationism in some states, many scientists feel that the best way to counter this movement is not to actively engage in it, but to inform the public on the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists are required to instruct their students in science and the theory of evolution. They must also inform the general public about the science process, and how scientific knowledge is gathered and confirmed. They must explain how scientific theories are frequently challenged and changed. However, misconceptions about the nature and purpose of scientific research can lead to anti-evolution beliefs.
For instance, some people confuse the term "theory" with the common meaning of the word - a guess or guess. In the realm of science theories are thoroughly tested and verified using evidence. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed becomes a scientific principal.
The debate over evolutionary theory is an excellent occasion to discuss the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is important for people to recognize that science is not able to answer questions regarding the purpose or meaning of life, it only serves as a mechanism through which living organisms can evolve and change.
Furthermore, a comprehensive education should cover the vast majority of scientific fields including evolutionary biology. This is essential because a variety of jobs and choices require people understand the way science operates.
The majority of scientists across the world accept that humans have changed over time. A recent study predicting adults' opinions of the consensus around this issue found that those who had higher levels of education and scientific knowledge were more likely to believe that there is a consensus between scientists regarding human evolution. The people with more religious beliefs and have less science-based knowledge tend to be more skeptical. It is essential that educators insist on understanding the consensus on this issue to ensure that people have a solid foundation for making informed decisions about their health care, energy usage and other issues of policy.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close relative to the mainstream evolutionary theory, cultural evolution explores the many ways that humans and other species learn from and interact with each other. Researchers in this field employ explanation tools and models derived from evolutionary theorists and go back to the prehistoric human to discover the earliest sources of culture.
This approach also recognizes the difference between traits that are cultural and biological. While biological traits are generally acquired in one go (in sexual species, during fertilization), cultural traits can be acquired over a long period of time. In the end, the emergence of one cultural trait can influence the development of another.
In Korea, for example, the adoption of Western fashion elements in the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century was a result of a complex series of events. One of the most significant was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western hairstyles and clothing styles to Korean society.
When Japan quit Korea in the 1930s some of these trends began to change. At the close of World War II, Korea had once again unified but this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the country's economy has been growing steadily over the past decade and is expected to sustain its steady growth in the near future.
The current administration is faced with many challenges. The government's inability to formulate an effective strategy to deal with the current economic crisis is one of the biggest challenges. The crisis has exposed weaknesses of the country's economy policies, mainly its overreliance on foreign investment and exports which might not be sustainable in the long run.
Since the financial crisis has destroyed the confidence of investors, the government has to review its economic strategy and come up with alternatives to increase domestic demand. It must also overhaul the incentive monitoring, control, and discipline systems in place to guarantee the stability of the financial system. This chapter presents several scenarios on how the Korean economy could develop in a post-crisis world.
4. Evolution and Education
The biggest challenge for evolution educators is how to present evolutionary concepts in a way that is suitable for students at various age groups and developmental stages. Teachers must, for example be aware of the religious diversity in their classrooms and create a welcoming environment where students from both secular and religious beliefs are comfortable. Teachers should also be able recognize common misconceptions about evolution and know how to correct them in the classroom. Additionally, teachers should have access to a range of resources available to teach evolution and be able to find them quickly.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played a significant role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from a variety of sectors to discuss best methods of teaching Evolution. Attendees included representatives of scientific societies as well as educational researchers, officials from government funding agencies, and curriculum developers. The convergence of diverse stakeholders helped identify a set of shared recommendations that will form the foundation for future actions.
It is essential to incorporate evolution in all science curricula at every level. To accomplish this the National Science Education Standards (NRC) require that evolution be taught in a unified way across the life sciences, with a progression of concepts that are developmental appropriate. Additionally, a new publication from the NRC offers guidance to schools on how to integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a more complete presentation of evolution is linked to better understanding by students and belief in the existence of evolution. However, estimating the causal effect of evolution in the classroom is difficult given that school curricula are not assigned randomly and evolve over time as a result of the predetermined timing of gubernatorial elections and state board of education appointments. To overcome this issue I employ a longitudinal dataset that allows me to control for the fixed effects of state and years as well as individual-level variations in the beliefs of teachers regarding evolutionary theory.
Teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution also have fewer internal barriers. This is in line with the hypothesis that a more experienced faculty is less likely to avoid tackling evolution subjects in the classroom. They also could be more likely to employ strategies, such as an approach to reconciliation that is known to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution (Harms and Reiss, 2019; Tolman et al. 2020).